Door for furnaces



(No Model.)

W. 0. NIGHTENGALE.

Y DOOR FOR FURNAGBS. No. 312,578. Patented Peb. 17,1885,

llmlll Mllilesa A 8 Ilmm.

4L WMM@ N: vvmaymnpw. washing n c,

rr STATES VILLIAM O. NIGHTENGALE, OF MOKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

DO OR FORV FURNACESl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,578, dated February 17, 1885.

v Application filedr April 2, 1884. (No model.)

| door, the door being difficult of removal, and

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM 0. NIGHTEN- GALE, of McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Doors for Paddling and Heating Furnaces, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the doors of puddling and heating furnaces, these doors being formed of a metal casting having a front plate and flanges extending inwardly therefrom to hold the brick or tile forming the inner lining of the door, and Yin puddling-fnrnaces the door having the puddling-hole at the base thereof, through which the rabble or other puddlingtool is inserted in stirring or working the metal, and in this case the basetlange extends around this opening. The door is hung from a suspended chain attached to a lever, or passing over rollers supported above the furnace, and it tits within guides or jambs ou each side of the opening, the guides having inner flanges to prevent the door from swinging into the furnace, but having no outer iianges, so that the door is free to swing outwardly unless held by some other means, the reason for employing no Vouter flanges being that the doors are heavy, and would be extremely hard to remove if these outer guidefianges were employed. Vhen it is desired to hold the door down against the sill, and

from outward motion to form a fulcrum for the puddling-tool, an iron bar is inserted in loops or hooks on each side of the opening and a wedge driven between this bar and the door, thus wedging it against the inner guideflanges. As the door is subjected to strong andvarying heat, it is evident that it is sub- 4o ject to expansion and contraction, and this -ing of the metal in expanding and contract-V wedging of the door against the j ambs by binding it at one particular point causes the straining, and often causes the cracking and breaking of the metal of the door. The driving of the wedges to fasten the door often jars the brick lining loose, and causes part of itto fall during a heat, causing much trouble in removing the brick from the molten met-al, and in some cases leaving the metal of the door exposed for several heats to the intense heat of the furnace, as much time is lost in repairing the an entirely new lining being generally neces` sary. After the metal is brought to nature, one puddling-ball is drawn opposite the door and this bar removed, as it obstructs the withdrawal of the puddle-balls from the furnace, and as it is heavy and hot the puddler generally mana-ges to draw the remaining puddleballs into posit-ion for removal without replacing it, though the leverage of the door is necessary, and as it is free to move out ofthe jambs he experiences much difficulty in accomplishing the work.

The special object of my invention is to provide means for holding the doors of these furnaces, which will move with the door without in any way impeding its operation, and by which it can be quickly locked in position without subjecting it to strain in case of expansion and contraction of the parts. The other object is to provide means for more easily removing the door, and to so build the tire-brick lining therein as to provide airspace between the lining and door-plate, thus protecting it and the workman from the intense heat of the furnace.

It consists, essentially, in combining with the door one or more bars pivoted thereon, and extending through a loop or loops on the side face of the furnace near the opening, and a cam-wedge or `similar device on the door for pressing against the upper face of the bar or bars, the loops holding against outward strain, and the cam pressing against the bars holding against upward strain, so that the door is firmly lockedhy this cam in position for all working operations.

It also consists in forming a lug or rib on the door having a lip or groove within which the ends of the pivoted bars fit, thus holding the bars against the door and relieving the pivots of the bars from stra-in of outward pressure in the operations of the furnace.

It also consists in forming on the inner face of the furnace-door a series of ribs extending in different directions for holding the brick lining from direct contact with the door-plate, and providing openings at the base of the door and the upper edge thereof for the passage of air through the airspace formed by these ribs, so that a continuous current of air is passing between the door-plate and lining,

IOO

and so carrying off much ofthe heat which has heretofore passed through the lining to the door-plate, and been radiated through the door-plate against the head of the puddler.

It consists in certain other details of construction, hereinafter specifically set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my inventionpl will describe-the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which" Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a puddling-furnace, the door being closed and locked, and the door being shown in dotted lines in position for the removal of a puddleball from the furnace. Fig.. 2 is a like View, the door being raised and in position for removal from the furnace. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of the door on the line x, Fig. l, and Fig. et is a back or inner view of the doorplate, the brick-work being partly removed.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

The puddling or heating furnace A may be of any suitable construction, and it has the jambs a and lever b above the dooropening,to

which the rod or chain Z1 for raising the door is connected. rlhe door C is formed of the door-plate c, and the top flange, c, base-flange ci, and side iianges, c, these flanges extending inwardly from the top plate and supporting the inner lining of firebrick or tile d, which protects the door -plate from the heat of the furnace. lVith puddling-furnaces the door is provided with the puddling-hole e at the base, the flange c2 of the door extending around this puddle-hole, as at e. Pivoted on the door-plate are the bars f, these bars being of sufficient length to extend out over the sides of the door and through the loops g, the loops extending out from the face of the furnace and standing diagonally to the door-jambs in order to allow of the movement of the pivot-bars therein, as hereinafter described, and also to hold them down when the door is locked. The door is provided with the rib h, having the groove hf on the upper face thereof, within which the ends of the pivoted bars f fit, the

' ends of said bars being cut on an angle, 'so as to fit together, as shown in Fig. l, so that both bars may be locked where the locking wedge or cam fits over but one thereof. Pivoted above this rib 7L is the cam-wedge 7c, this cam being secured in the top of the door,and being of such construction that when drawn down it will press against the upper face or faces of one or both bars and hold them within the rib h, or, if said rib is not employed, press them down, so holding the door down against the door-sill a?, the opposite ends of the levers being held within the loops g, before referred to. The cam 7s may, however, be raised so that it is entirely free from the pivot-bars f, and permits said bars to rise out of thegroove or seaty 71. in the rib h when the door is raised by the operator for any desired purpose. When the door is raised to remove the puddle-ball, ingot, or pile, or for other suitable purpose, the pivot-bars are of course carried up with it, and the ends thereof extending through the loops g slide back and forth in said loops. The diagonal position of the loops allows them to swing freely therein, and in no way to impede the movement of the door; but the upper faces of these bars fit against the upper portions of the loops when the door is lowered against the sill, and the pivot-bars are locked in this position by driving the cam 7c against the upper surface of one or both bars. It is therefore seen that the puddler can lock the furnace-door down against the sill, in position to sustain all the ordinary operations of puddling, by a single blow on the wedge k, and when so locked it is held against upward strain by the wedge, and against outward strain by the bars f, fitting within the loops g, and that when the bars fit within the rib h this strain is taken from the pivots of the bars. NVhen the bars fit within the groove h of the rib h, in case of expansion or contraction ofthe metal door, it is .evident that no strain is brought thereon, as the dooris not pressed tight against the inner guide-flanges of the jambs, and is held down by the wedge-cam 7c, which, in case of expansion or contraction of the door, will be effected by such expansion or contraction, and its pressure on the pivot-bars be correspondingly decreased or increased, and the body of the door is therefore subjected to no severe strain, and all liability of cracking' or breaking of the same from such cause is overcome. On the door-plate c are the loops Z, within which lugs on a pair of tongs catch to lift the door from between the jambs when it is necessary to repair it. This can be easily accomplished by raising the door until the outer ends'of the pivoted bars f can be drawn out of the loops g, as shown in Fig. 2, when the bars can be swung inwardly, the supporting-chain disengaged from the door and the door lifted off by said tongs. It of course can be replaced in the same manner, but little time being required for the purpose. On the inner face of vthe door-plate c are formed a series of corrugations or projections, m on, which extend out from the door a short distance, the corrugations running in different directions across and up and down said face and communicating with each other and serving to support the brick lining (l a short distance from the doorplate c and form an air-space between the door-plate and the inner lining of the door. The door 'is provided with the holes or openings p at or near the base thereof for the entrance of air, andthe holes or openings r at or near the top of the door for the escape of air, these openings being formed in the door-plate c, or in the flanges cl c', as desired. The ordinary method of securing the lining to the door has been `to place the brick `in position and then pour over it mortar or fire-clay, which enters in between the lbrick and sets, holding the brick in place. It is evident that in case this mortar was employed it would fill up the air-space between the brick and the inner face IOO of the door-plate, and to prevent this I employ a sheet of asbestus or other suitable material, s, which I place over the corrugations before building the brick thereon, and this sheet of asbestus prevents the mortar from flowing between the corrugations, and so preserves the air-space between the plate andA brick lining. This separating-sheet vmay be formed of asbestus, cloth, paper, or other niaterial, whether incombustible or not, as its principal purpose is to prevent the flow of the liquid mortar within the corrugations and close up the air-space; but I prefer the employment of asbestus, as it is not only incombustible, but a nonconductor of heat, and will serve to prevent the passage of heat through to the door-plate, thus assisting in the protection afforded to the workman by my improved door. Vhen the air-space is formed in this manner between the fire-brick lining and the doorplate, it is evident that a current of air passing between the two carries away a large amount of heat which has4 previously penetrated the plate, and so not only keeps the door-plate from warping, but also serves to protect the workman from the intense heat of the furnace, and renders work much less arduous.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination with a furnace-door hung between guides, one or more bars pivoted thereon and extending through a loop or loops at the sides of the door, and a cam-wedge or equivalent device for holding down said pivoted bar or bars, substantially as and for the purposes set-forth.

2. In combination with a furnace-door hung between guides on the furnace, one or more bars pivoted to said door and extending through a loop or loops at the side thereof, a rib or lug on said door for supporting. said bars against downward pressure, and a cani-wedge or equiv alent device for holding said bar against said lug, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with a furnace-door hung between guides on the furnace, and having one or more bars pivoted thereon, a loop or loops at the side of said door, said loops standing diagonally thereto, and a cani-wedgeor equivalent device, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In furnaee-doors,V the combination, with the furnace A, having the loop or loops g, of the door C, having the rib or lug Vh, provided with a groove, 7L', and the pivoted bar or bars f, extending through said loops and fitting within said groove h', and the cam-wedge or equivalent device, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. lIhe combination, with a furnace, A, having the loops g and the door C, of the pivoted bars f, camwedge orequivalent device k, and loops Z, substantially as and for the purposes 6 5 set forth.

6. In furnace-doors, the combination of doorpl ate c, having surrounding-flanges, and brick lining d, fitting within said flanges, said doorplate having corrugationsor projections m on its inner face, and openings at the base and top communicating with the space between the door-pl ate and lining, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The furnace-door having a series of corrugations or projections on the inner face of the door-plate c, in combination with an asbestus -or other suitablesheet, s, fitting over said corrugations, and the brick lining d, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said VILLIAM; O. NIGHTENGALE, have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM O. NIGH'IENGALE.

Witnesses:

JAMEs W. Pnnsoorfr, J. N. COOKE. 

